„Biblioteca este cea mai democratică instituţie, e simbol al democraţiei americane".

The article presents the public library in Arizona - Phoenix Public Library - considering the visit and the discussions that the author had with the library director, Ms. Toni Garvey. In 2004 she was conferred the title "librarian of the year" by the Library Journal Magazine as she is well known for successfully managing the library with its 17 branches and for promoting the new role of the library as open space, stating that "the library is the most democratic institution". As for the size of the collection, Phoenix Public Library counts 181.570 reference items (that are not available for circulation) children literature, rare books and the "Arizona" collection, 25.609 digital items, 11.973 newspapers and magazines, and a small collection of Romanian books. Tony Garvey joined the American delegation that visited Romania in 2010 with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation program, and she was amazed by the openness and willingness of Romanian librarians to learn about the experiences of their American colleagues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]